Light emitting element

ABSTRACT

A heat radiation structure of a light emitting element has leads, each lead having a plurality of leg sections, and a light emitting chip mounted on any one of the leads. The present invention can provide a high-efficiency light emitting element, in which a thermal load is reduced by widening a connecting section through which a lead and a chip seating section of the light emitting element are connected, and the heat generated from a heat source can be more rapidly radiated to the outside. Further, the present invention can also provide a high-efficiency light emitting element, in which heat radiation fins are formed between a stopper and a molding portion of a lead of the light emitting element so that natural convection can occur between the heat radiation fins, and an area in which heat radiation can occur is widened to maximize a heat radiation effect.

CROSS REFERENCE RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/027,107, filed on Feb. 14, 2011, which is a divisional ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/094,206, filed on May 19, 2008,which is the national stage of International Application No.PCT/KR2006/004898, filed Nov. 21, 2006, and claims priority from and thebenefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2005-0111255, filed on Nov.21, 2005, and Korean Patent Application No. 10-2005-0112440, filed onNov. 23, 2005, which are all hereby incorporated by reference for allpurposes as if fully set forth herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a light emitting element, and moreparticularly, to a heat radiation structure of a light emitting element,which has leads, each lead having a plurality of leg sections, and alight emitting chip mounted on any one of the leads.

2. Discussion of the Background

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a light emitting element according to aprior art.

As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional light emitting element includes firstand second leads 10 and 20; a light emitting chip 30 mounted on thefirst lead 10; a wire 40 connecting the light emitting chip 30 and thesecond lead 20; and a molding portion 50 encapsulating portions of thefirst and second leads 10 and 20 and the light emitting chip 30. At thistime, each of the first and second leads 10 and 20 has two leg sections,which are connected to each other through a connecting section 10 a attop portions of the leg sections. Particularly, the first lead 10further includes a chip seating section 10 b formed to extend from theconnecting section toward a connecting section of the second lead 20,and the light emitting chip 30 is mounted on the chip seating section 10b.

In the aforementioned structure of the light emitting element accordingto the prior art, electric energy moves from the connecting section, asan electrical connecting section, to the chip seating section. Further,heat generated from the light emitting chip 20 also moves through thesame path. However, since an existing lead is designed such that theconnecting section 10 a is narrower than the chip seating section 10 bin order to reduce a material as shown in FIG. 1, a thermal load isconcentrated therebetween, which results in a problem such asexfoliation. Moreover, since the area of a path through which heat flowsis small, a relatively large amount of heat is not radiated. Therefore,there is a problem in a heat radiation effect.

Further, since the conventional light emitting element having theaforementioned configuration includes the leads, which protrude to theoutside of the molding portion 50 only to receive external input withoutany additional structure, a surface area for heat radiation is limited.Accordingly, since convection naturally occurring due to a temperaturedifference is limited and thus heat radiation through the convectiondoes not occur, so there is a problem in that the temperature of theentire light emitting element rises, and it is difficult to provide ahigh-efficiency light emitting element since the heat in the interior ofthe light emitting element is not rapidly radiated to the outside andthus a temperature difference between the interior and exterior of thelight emitting element is large.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention is conceived to solve theaforementioned problems in the prior art. An object of the presentinvention is to provide a high-efficiency light emitting element byimproving a heat radiation structure thereof.

In order to achieve the object, the present invention provides a lightemitting element with a lead installed thereto, the lead including aplurality of leg sections branched to be space apart from each other, aconnecting section for connecting the leg sections, and a chip seatingsection connected to the connecting section, wherein the minimum widthof the connecting section is identical with or larger than the width ofthe chip seating section.

At least one of the leg sections may comprise a heat radiation finextending toward another of the leg sections. Preferably, a stopper isformed to protrude on a central portion of the leg section, and the heatradiation fin is formed above the stopper. The leg section may comprisea lower leg portion and an upper leg portion having a width larger thanthe lower leg portion. The entire shape of the chip seating section andthe connecting section may be a rectangle. However, the shape is notlimited thereto. The chip seating section and the connecting section maybe shaped so that the width of the entire shape thereof becomes narrowfrom the connecting section to a distal end of the chip seating section.

Further, the present invention provides a light emitting element with alead installed thereto, the lead including a plurality of leg sectionsbranched to be spaced apart from each other, wherein at least one of theleg sections comprises a heat radiation fin extending toward another ofthe leg sections.

Preferably, a stopper is formed to protrude on a central portion of theleg section, and the heat radiation fin is formed above the stopper.Further, it is preferred that the two leg sections be formed in parallelwith each other. At this time, an upper portion of the leg section maybe wider than a lower portion thereof.

In addition, the present invention provides a light emitting elementwith a lead installed thereto, the lead including leg sections branchedto be spaced apart from each other, wherein at least one of the legsections comprises a heat radiation fin extending opposite to another ofthe leg sections.

At this time, the light emitting element may further comprise a dummylead branched to extend from an end of the heat radiation fin.

Further, preferably, the light emitting element comprises a moldingportion encapsulating an end of the lead, and at least a portion of anend of the branched dummy lead is encapsulated by the molding portion.

As described above, the present invention can provide a high-efficiencylight emitting element, in which a thermal load is reduced by widening aconnecting section through which a lead and a chip seating section ofthe light emitting element are connected, and the heat generated from aheat source can be more rapidly radiated to the outside.

Further, the present invention can also provide a high-efficiency lightemitting element, in which heat radiation fins are formed between astopper and a molding portion of a lead of the light emitting element sothat natural convection can occur between the heat radiation fins, andan area in which heat radiation can occur is widened to maximize a heatradiation effect.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a light emitting element according to aprior art;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a light emitting element according to afirst embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a light emitting element according to amodification of the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a light emitting element according toanother modification of the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a light emitting element according to asecond embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a light emitting element according to amodification of the second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a light emitting element according to athird embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a light emitting element according to afourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a light emitting element according to afifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view of a light emitting element according to thefifth embodiment of the present invention, taken along line A-A′ of thelight emitting element shown in FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a light emitting element according to asixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a light emitting element according to aseventh embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a light emitting element according to aeighth embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will bedescribed in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments but maybe embodied into different forms. These embodiments are provided onlyfor illustrative purposes and for full understanding of the scope of thepresent invention by those skilled in the art. Throughout the drawings,like elements are designated by like reference numerals.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a light emitting element according to afirst embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a perspective viewof a light emitting element according to a modification of the firstembodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view ofa light emitting element according to another modification of the firstembodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 2, the light emitting element according to the firstembodiment of the present invention includes first and second leads 100and 110 having two pairs of leg sections 100 a and 110 a connected byconnecting sections 100 b and 110 b, respectively; a chip seatingsection 100 c formed to extend from the first connecting section 100 bof the first lead 100 toward the second connecting section 110 b of thesecond lead 110; a light emitting chip 130 mounted on the chip seatingsection 100 c; a wire 150 connecting the light emitting chip 130 and thesecond lead 110; and a molding portion 170 encapsulating portions of thefirst and second leads 100 and 110, the light emitting chip 130 and thewire 150. At this time, each of the first and second leads 100 and 110has two leg sections 100 a or 110 a, and each pair of the leg sections100 a and 110 a are connected by the connecting section 100 b or 110 bat top portions of the leg sections.

Each of the first and second leads 100 and 110 is manufactured through apredetermined molding process, and comprises a pair of leg sections 100a and 110 a and stoppers 115 formed at central portions of the legsections 100 a and 110 a. The stoppers 115 are formed to protrude at thecentral portions of the leg sections 100 a and 110 a so that when thelight emitting element is mounted on an element mounting member such asa substrate, only predetermined portions of the leg sections 100 a and110 a are inserted into and supported on the element mounting member.

At this time, each of the leg sections 100 a and 110 a may have an upperleg portion 101 a wider than a portion beneath the stopper 115 as shownin FIGS. 3 and 4. That is, the portion inserted into a slot of anelement mounting member such as a standardized or ready-made substratemay be formed to have the same dimension as the prior art, while theportion exposed above the element mounting member can be wider. In thiscase, since the width of the upper leg portion 101 a above the stopper115 is larger than the size of a hole of the element mounting memberthrough which a light emitting element will be mounted, the stopper 115need not be formed.

The light emitting chip 130 is a vertical type light emitting chip andis mounted on a concave portion of the chip seating section 100 c. Atthis time, the light emitting chip 130 may be a horizontal type lightemitting chip of which first and second electrodes formed on thesurfaces facing the same direction. In this case, an insulation layermay be formed between the horizontal type light emitting chip and thechip seating section 100 c. Although the concave portion of the chipseating section 100 c is shown as being circular, the concave portionmay alternatively be formed to be substantially square, as shown inFIGS. 9, 11, and 12, so that the edges of the concave portion correspondto edges of the light emitting chip 130. The light emitting chip 130 andthe concave portion of the chip seating section 100 c may also be formedto each be a substantially rectangular shape, as shown in FIG. 13.

The wire 150 is used to connect the second electrode of the lightemitting chip 130 and the second lead 110, and is generally formed of Auor Al. At this time, if the light emitting chip 130 is a horizontaltype, the light emitting element may further include an additional metalwire for connecting the first electrode and the first lead 100.

The molding portion 170, which protects the light emitting chip 130 andwire 150, and fixes the first and second leads 100 and 110 to be spacedapart from each other at a predetermined interval, is formed of epoxy orsilicone resin using a mold such as an additional mold cup. Further, aconvex lens may be formed on a top of the molding portion 170. As shownin the figures, a light-gathering effect can be obtained by forming theconvex lens on the top of the molding portion 170. The present inventionis not limited thereto, it will be readily understood by those skilledin the art that various modifications and changes can be made thereto.For example, as shown in FIG. 10, the molding portion 170 may be formedto encapsulate a first portion of the chip seating section 100 c, andnot encapsulate a second portion of the chip seating section 100 c.Although FIG. 10 is a sectional view of the light emitting element shownin FIG. 9, the structure of the molding portion 170 in relation to thechip seating section 100 c may be applied to the other embodiments ofthe present invention. Further, as shown in FIG. 9, the concave portionof the chip seating section 100 c is spaced apart from the two legsections 110 a, but is nevertheless positioned relatively close to thetwo leg sections 110 a, so that at least a portion of the two legsections 110 a, the concave portion of the chip seating section 100 c,and the wire 150 may be positioned directly under the convex lens of themolding portion 170.

Further, a predetermined phosphor for obtaining the light emission witha desired color may be further included over the light emitting chip130. For example, an inner molding portion heated and cured for apredetermined time may be formed in the interior of the chip seatingsection 100 c by applying epoxy resin containing a phosphor thereto, andan outer molding portion of transparent epoxy resin may be formed aroundleading ends of the leads 100 and 110 such that the transmittance oflight emitted from the light emitting chip 130 can be enhanced.

The chip seating section 100 c on which the light emitting chip ismounted, is connected to the leg sections 100 a through the firstconnecting section 100 b. The light emitting chip 130 is mounted on thechip seating section 100 c, and is formed in the shape of a concaveportion so as to reflect light emitted from the light emitting chip 130upward. Heat generated from the light emitting chip 130 when operatingthe light emitting element is conducted to the first leg sections 100 athrough the chip seating section 100 c and the first connecting section100 b, and the transmitted heat is radiated to the outside throughdistal ends of the leg sections 100 a. At this time, electric energymoves from the first connecting section 100 b, which is an electricalconnecting section, to the chip seating section 100 c. Further, the heatgenerated from the light emitting chip 130 also moves through the samepath. Thus, in a case where the first connecting section 100 b isnarrow, a thermal load is concentrated thereat, thereby causing aproblem such as exfoliation. Moreover, since the area of the paththrough which the heat flows is small, a large amount of heat does notescape, which results in a problem in a heat radiation effect.Accordingly, if the first connecting section 100 b is widened comparedwith the chip seating section 100 c as shown in FIG. 3, the heatconducted from the chip seating section 100 c can be rapidly radiated tothe outside without a bottle-neck phenomenon between the chip seatingsection 100 c and the first connecting section 100 b. Further, if thewidths of the chip seating section 100 c and the first connectingsection 100 b are increased together and thus the chip seating section100 c is in the shape of a rectangle as shown in FIG. 4, the heat can beconducted more rapidly compared with the first connecting section 100 bhaving the width gradually increased. That is, the first connectingsection 100 b is designed in various shapes to have the minimum widthidentical with or larger than the width of the chip seating section 100c, so that the heat generated from the light emitting chip 130 can berapidly radiated to the outside without the bottle-neck phenomenonbetween the chip seating section 100 c and the first connecting section100 b.

The comparison of heat radiation effects depending on the widths of thefirst connecting section 100 b and the chip seating section 100 c willbe described with reference to the following table.

The following Table 1 is to compare the temperature of the lightemitting elements according to the prior art and the first embodiment ofthe present invention. The maximum temperature is measured from thelight emitting chip 130, the minimum temperature is measured from anouter surface of the light emitting element. The temperature differenceis a difference value between the maximum and minimum temperatures.According to the following Table 1, in a case where the first connectingsection 100 b is wider than the chip seating section 100 c, each of themaximum and minimum temperatures of the light emitting element accordingto the present invention is lower by about 1° C. than that of the priorart. Further, in a case where the widths of the first connecting section100 b and the chip seating section 100 c are increased together to be inthe shape of a rectangle as shown in FIG. 4, it can be seen that each ofthe maximum and minimum temperatures of the light emitting elementaccording to the present invention is lower by about 5° C. than that ofthe prior art, and the temperature differences of the present lightemitting element are also lowered. Comparing values of the followingTable 1, it can be understood that a heat radiation effect is superiorwhen the widths of the first connecting section 100 b and the chipseating section 100 c are increased together to that when only the widthof the first connecting section 100 b is increased.

TABLE 1 Max. Temp. Min. Temp. Temp. Diff. [° C.] [° C.] [° C.] Prior art60.6 50.7 9.9 Increased width of 59.7 50.1 9.6 connecting sectionIncreased widths of 55.3 46.8 8.5 connecting section and chip seatingsection

Hereinafter, a process of manufacturing the light emitting elementaccording to the first embodiment of the present invention will bebriefly described.

Referring to FIG. 2, first, through a predetermined molding process,there are provided the first lead 100 having the pair of first legsections 100 a and the chip seating section 100 c connected to the firstleg sections 100 a through the first connecting section 100 b, and thesecond lead 110 having the pair of second leg sections 110 a connectedthrough the second connecting section 110 b.

Thereafter, the light emitting chip 130 is mounted on the concaveportion of the chip seating section 100 c of the first lead 100. Thelight emitting chip 130 is a vertical type light emitting chip, and anadhesive agent (not shown) is interposed between the light emitting chip130 and the chip seating section 100 c. At this time, the light emittingchip 130 may be a horizontal type light emitting chip of which the firstand second electrodes are formed on the surfaces facing the samedirection. In this case, an insulation may be formed between thehorizontal type light emitting chip and the chip seating section 100 c.

Next, the wire 150 for connecting the light emitting chip 130 and thesecond lead 110 is formed through a wire bonding process.

Thereafter, the molding portion 170 encapsulating the light emittingchip 130 and the wire 150 is formed by injecting a certain amount ofliquid epoxy or silicone resin into a prepared mold cup and then dippingthe lead with the light emitting chip 130 mounted thereon within themold cup for a predetermined time at a certain temperature.

After the molding portion 170 is cured, the mold cup is removed andunnecessary portions except the first and second leads 100 and 110 aretrimmed, thereby completing the light emitting element according to thefirst embodiment of the present invention.

Next, a light emitting element according to a second embodiment of thepresent invention will be described with reference to the drawings.Descriptions overlapping with the aforementioned descriptions of thelight emitting element according to the first embodiment of the presentinvention will be omitted or briefly described herein. At this time, allthe descriptions of the first embodiment can be applied to the followingembodiments, and the descriptions of the following embodiments can alsobe applied to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a light emitting element according to asecond embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a perspectiveview of a light emitting element according to a modification of thesecond embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 5, the light emitting element according to the secondembodiment of the present invention includes first and second leads 100and 110 having two pairs of leg sections 100 a and 110 a connectedthrough first and second heat radiation fins 100 d and 110 c; a lightemitting chip 130 mounted on the first lead 100; a wire 150 connectingthe light emitting chip 130 and the second lead 110; and a moldingportion 170 encapsulating portions of the first and second leads 100 and110, the light emitting chip 130 and the wire 150. At this time, each ofthe first and second lead 100 and 110 has two leg sections 100 a and 110a, and the leg sections are connected through a connecting section 100 bat top portions thereof. Particularly, the first lead 100 furtherincludes a chip seating section 100 c formed to extend from theconnecting section 100 b toward a connecting section 110 b of the secondlead 110, and the light emitting chip 130 is mounted on the chip seatingsection 100 c.

Each of the first and second leads 100 and 110 is manufactured through apredetermined molding process, and comprises a pair of leg sections 100a and 110 a and stoppers 115 formed at central portions of the legsections 100 a and 110 a. The light emitting chip 130 is mounted on thechip seating section 100 c of the first lead 100, and the chip seatingsection 100 c is formed in the shape of a concave portion to reflectlight emitted from the light emitting chip 130 upward. When the lightemitting element is mounted on an element mounting member such as asubstrate, the stoppers 115 cause only predetermined portions of the legsections 100 a and 110 a to be inserted into and supported on theelement mounting member. The first and second heat radiation fins 100 dand 110 c are formed on regions between the stoppers 115 and the moldingportion 170. The two leg sections 100 a of the first lead 100 areconnected to each other through the first heat radiation fin 100 d, andthe two leg sections 110 a of the second lead 110 are also connected toeach other through the second heat radiation fin 110 c.

At this time, each of the leg sections 100 a and 110 a may have an upperleg portion wider than a portion beneath the stopper 115 as shown inFIG. 6. That is, the portion inserted into a slot of an element mountingmember such as a standardized or ready-made substrate may be formed tohave the same dimension as the prior art, while the portion exposedabove the element mounting member can be wider. In this case, since thewidth of the upper leg portion above the stopper 115 is larger than thesize of a hole of the element mounting member through which a lightemitting element will be mounted, the stopper 115 need not be formed. Asdescribed above, since the first and second heat radiation fins 100 dand 110 c are formed between the leg sections 100 a and 110 a of theleads 100 and 110, the light emitting element according to thisembodiment has a heat radiation area wider than the light emittingelement according to the prior art. Thus, according to the presentinvention, there is an advantage in that a high-efficiency lightemitting element can be manufactured.

The first and second heat radiation fins 100 d and 110 c, which are torapidly radiate the heat generated from the light emitting chip 130 tothe outside when operating the light emitting element, are made of thesame material as the first and second leads 100 and 110. The first heatradiation fin 100 d is formed such that the two leg sections of thefirst lead 100 are connected to each other. Further, the two legsections 110 a of the second lead 110 are also connected to each otherthrough the second heat radiation fin 110 c. However, the presentinvention is not limited thereto. That is, the leg sections of each ofthe first and second leads 100 and 110 may not be connected to eachother by the heat radiation fin, and the heat radiation fin may beformed on only one of the leg sections 100 a and 110 a. Further, theshape of the first and second heat radiation fins 100 d and 110 c is notlimited to a bar shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, but may be varied depending onthe heat radiation performance and usage of the light emitting element.Preferably, the aforementioned first and second heat radiation fins 100d and 110 c may be formed on the leg section between the stopper 115 andthe molding portion 170 such that the heat radiation fins do not affectthe mount of the light emitting element on the element mounting membersuch as a substrate. Further, since when two or more heat radiation finsare formed, a convection phenomenon occurs between the heat radiationfins, a high heat radiation effect can be expected as compared with whenonly one heat radiation fin is formed.

Meanwhile, if the surface of the element mounting member, to which theleg sections 100 a and 110 a of the light emitting element are mounted,is made of an insulation or a corresponding electrode pattern is formed,the stoppers 115 can be removed and the lowermost positioned first andsecond heat radiation fins 100 d and 110 c can serve as the stoppers115.

The following Table 2 is to compare the temperature of the lightemitting elements according to the prior art and the second embodimentof the present invention. The maximum temperature is measured from thelight emitting chip 130, the minimum temperature is measured from anouter surface of the light emitting element. The temperature differenceis a difference value between the maximum and minimum temperatures.According to the following Table 2, it can be seen that both maximum andminimum temperatures of the light emitting element of the presentinvention are lower by about 10° C. than those of the light emittingelement according to the prior art, and the temperature differencebetween the maximum and minimum temperatures is also small in thepresent invention. Accordingly, since the light emitting elementaccording to the present invention radiates internal heat more rapidlythan the light emitting element according to the prior art, ahigh-efficiency light emitting element can be provided.

TABLE 2 Max. Temp. Min. Temp. Temp. Diff. [° C.] [° C.] [° C.] Prior art60.6 50.7 9.9 Present 51.3 43.8 7.5 Invention

Hereinafter, a process of manufacturing the light emitting elementaccording to the second embodiment of the present invention will bebriefly described.

Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, first, through a predetermined moldingprocess, there are provided the first lead 100 having the pair of legsections 100 a and the stoppers 115 and first heat radiation fin 100 dformed on the leg sections 100 a, and the second lead 110 having thepair of leg sections 110 a and the stoppers 115 and having the secondheat radiation fin 110 c formed on the leg sections 110 a. At this time,the first and second heat radiation fins 100 d and 100 c can be formedafter the first and second leads 100 and 110 are manufactured.

Thereafter, the light emitting chip 130 is mounted on the concaveportion of the chip seating section 100 c of the first lead 100. Thelight emitting chip 130 is a vertical type light emitting chip, and anadhesive agent (not shown) is interposed between the light emitting chip130 and the chip seating section 100 c. The wire 150 for connecting thelight emitting chip 130 and the second lead 110 is formed through a wirebonding process.

Thereafter, the molding portion 170 encapsulating the light emittingchip 130 and the wire 150 is formed by injecting a certain amount ofliquid epoxy or silicone resin into a prepared mold cup and then dippingthe lead with the light emitting chip 130 mounted thereon within themold cup for a predetermined time at a certain temperature.

After the molding portion 170 is cured, the mold cup is removed andunnecessary portions except the first and second heat radiation fins 100d and 110 c and the first and second leads 100 and 110 are trimmed,thereby completing the light emitting element according to the secondembodiment of the present invention.

Next, a light emitting element according to a third embodiment of thepresent invention will be described with reference to the drawings.Descriptions overlapping with the aforementioned embodiments will beomitted or briefly described herein.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a light emitting element according to athird embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 7, the light emitting element according to the thirdembodiment of the present invention includes first and second leads 100and 110 having two pairs of leg sections 100 a and 110 a connected byconnecting sections 100 b and 110 b, respectively; a chip seatingsection 100 c formed to extend from the first connecting section 100 bof the first lead 100 toward the second connecting section 110 b of thesecond lead 110; a light emitting chip 130 mounted on the chip seatingsection 100 c; a wire 150 connecting the light emitting chip 130 and thesecond lead 110; and a molding portion 170 encapsulating portions of thefirst and second leads 100 and 110, the light emitting chip 130 and thewire 150. At this time, each of the first and second leads 100 and 110has two leg sections 100 a or 110 a, and each pair of the leg sections100 a and 110 a are connected by the connecting section 100 b or 110 bat top portions of the leg sections.

The chip seating section 100 c on which the light emitting chip ismounted, is connected to the leg sections 100 a through the firstconnecting section 100 b. The light emitting chip 130 is mounted on thechip seating section 100 c, and is formed in the shape of a concaveportion so as to reflect light emitted from the light emitting chip 130upward. Heat generated from the light emitting chip 130 when operatingthe light emitting element is conducted to the first leg sections 100 athrough the chip seating section 100 c and the first connecting section,and the transmitted heat is radiated to the outside through distal endsof the leg sections 100 a.

As described above, if the first connecting section 100 b is widenedcompared with the chip seating section 100 c, the heat conducted fromthe chip seating section 100 c can be rapidly radiated to the outsidewithout a bottle-neck phenomenon between the chip seating section 100 cand the first connecting section 100 b. That is, the first connectingsection 100 b is designed in various shapes to have the minimum widthidentical with or larger than the width of the chip seating section 100c, so that the heat generated from the light emitting chip 130 can berapidly radiated to the outside without the bottle-neck phenomenonbetween the chip seating section 100 c and the first connecting section100 b.

The first and second heat radiation fins 100 d and 110 c, which are torapidly radiate the heat generated from the light emitting chip 130 tothe outside when operating the light emitting element, are made of thesame material as the first and second leads 100 and 110. The first heatradiation fin 100 d is formed such that the two leg sections 100 a ofthe first lead 100 are connected to each other. Further, the two legsections 110 a of the second lead 110 are also connected to each otherthrough the second heat radiation fin 110 c. However, the presentinvention is not limited thereto. That is, the leg sections 100 a and110 a of each of the first and second leads 100 and 110 may not beconnected to each other by the heat radiation fin 100 d and 110 crespectively, and the heat radiation fin may be formed on only one ofthe leg sections. Further, the shape of the first and second heatradiation fins 100 d and 110 c is not limited to a bar shown in FIGS. 5and 6, but may be varied depending on the heat radiation performance andusage of the light emitting element. Preferably, the aforementionedfirst and second heat radiation fins 100 d and 110 c may be formed onthe leg section between the stopper 115 and the molding portion 170 suchthat the heat radiation fins do not affect the mount of the lightemitting element on the element mounting member such as a substrate.Further, since when two or more heat radiation fins are formed, aconvection phenomenon occurs between the heat radiation fins, a highheat radiation effect can be expected as compared with when only oneheat radiation fin is formed.

Meanwhile, in the light emitting elements according to this embodiment,a heat radiation effect can be more enhanced by making an upper portionof the leg section wider than a lower portion beneath the stopper 115 asin the previous embodiments.

As described above, the light emitting element according to thisembodiment may have the combination of the aforementioned advantages ofthe first and second embodiments of the present invention, so thatsuperior heat radiation performance can be expected.

Next, a light emitting element in which heat radiation fins are appliedto a lamp type light emitting element, as a fourth embodiment of thepresent invention, will be described. Descriptions overlapping with theaforementioned embodiments will be omitted or briefly described herein.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a light emitting element according to afourth embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 8, the light emitting element according to the fourthembodiment of the present invention includes first and second leads 100and 110 having dummy leads formed thereon; a light emitting chip 130mounted on the first lead 100; a wire 150 connecting the light emittingchip 130 and the second lead 110; and a molding portion 170encapsulating the light emitting chip and the wire 150.

The first and second leads 100 and 110 are formed of a metal such as Cuor Al through a predetermined pressing process. The first and secondleads 100 and 110 are formed with the dummy leads 116. One of the dummyleads 116 and the first lead 100 are connected through a first heatradiation fin 100 d, and the other of the dummy leads 116 and the secondlead 110 are connected through a second heat radiation fin 110 c.Further, it is preferred that at least a portion of each dummy lead 116be encapsulated by the molding portion 170 such that the dummy leads 116are stably supported and the heat radiation performance is enhanced. Atthis time, the dummy lead 116 may be formed at any one of the first andsecond leads 100 and 110, and the number and shape of the dummy leadsmay be changed depending on the performance and usage of the lightemitting element. Each of the first and second leads 100 and 110 furtherincludes a stopper 120, which allows a certain portion of the lead to beinserted into an element mounting member. However, the dummy lead 116may be used as the stopper 120 by adjusting the position of the dummylead 116. In this case, the stopper 120 need not be formed. Further, thedummy leads 116 also function as heat radiation fins, and radiate moreheat to the outside as compared with when only the first and second heatradiation fins 100 d and 110 c are formed. Accordingly, there is anadvantage in that it is easy to provide a high-efficiency light emittingelement.

As shown in FIG. 11, more than one light emitting chip 130 may bedisposed in the chip seating section 100 c. In the present exemplaryembodiment, each light emitting chip 130 is electrically connected toseparate leg sections 110 a and 110 b via wires 150. FIG. 12 shows alight emitting element similar to the one shown in FIG. 11, except thatthere are additional leg sections extending from the connecting section100 b. FIG. 13 shows a light emitting element having a light emittingchip 130 electrically connected to leg section 110 b via a wire 150. Thechip seating section 100 c is offset from the center of the moldingportion 170. Additional leg sections extend from the connecting section100 b.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to theaccompanying drawings and embodiments, it will be understood by thoseskilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be madethereto without departing from the technical spirit and scope of thepresent invention.

1. A light emitting element, comprising: a lead, comprising: a pluralityof leg sections; a connecting section connecting a first leg section anda second leg section of the plurality of leg sections; and a chipseating section connected to the connecting section, wherein the firstleg section comprises a first portion and a second portion, the secondportion is connected to the connecting section, the first portion has adifferent shape from the second portion, and the second portion is widerthan the connecting section where the second portion is connected to theconnecting section.
 2. The light emitting element of claim 1, whereinthe first portion and the second portion have different widths from eachother.
 3. The light emitting element of claim 2, wherein the secondportion has a greater width than the first portion.
 4. The lightemitting element of claim 1, wherein the first portion and the secondportion have different areas from each other.
 5. The light emittingelement of claim 4, wherein the second portion has a greater area thanthe first portion.
 6. The light emitting element of claim 1, wherein thefirst leg section comprises a heat radiation fin.
 7. The light emittingelement of claim 1, wherein the entire shape of the chip seating sectionand the connecting section is substantially square.
 8. The lightemitting element of claim 1, wherein the entire shape of the chipseating section and the connecting section becomes narrow from theconnecting section to a distal end of the chip seating section.
 9. Thelight emitting element of claim 1, further comprising a light emittingchip arranged on a portion of the chip seating section.
 10. The lightemitting element of claim 9, further comprising a molding portioncovering at least the light emitting chip.
 11. The light emittingelement of claim 10, wherein the chip seating section comprises aconcave portion, and the light emitting chip is arranged in a firstregion of the concave portion.
 12. The light emitting element of claim11, wherein the light emitting chip has a substantially square shape,and the concave portion has a substantially square shape so as tocorrespond to the light emitting chip.
 13. The light emitting element ofclaim 11, wherein the light emitting chip comprises a substantiallyrectangular shape, and the concave portion comprises a substantiallyrectangular shape so as to correspond to the light emitting chip. 14.The light emitting element of claim 11, wherein the light emitting chipis arranged in the concave portion relatively close to another legsection separated from the first leg section and the second leg section.15. The light emitting element of claim 10, wherein the light emittingchip is arranged at a central portion of the molding portion.
 16. Thelight emitting element of claim 11, wherein the molding portionencapsulates the chip seating section, and a second region of theconcave portion is exposed at the surface of the molding portion. 17.The light emitting element of claim 1, wherein the second portion isseparated from the chip seating section by the connecting section. 18.The light emitting element of claim 1, wherein the first portion isseparated from the connecting section by the second portion.
 19. A lightemitting element, comprising: a lead, comprising: a plurality of legsections; a connecting section connecting at least two of the legsections; a chip seating section connected to the connecting section; amolding portion encapsulating a portion of the lead, wherein the chipseating section comprises a concave portion; and a light emitting chiparranged on a first region of the concave portion, wherein a secondregion of the concave portion is exposed at the surface of the moldingportion, and the leg sections are wider than the connecting sectionwhere the leg sections are connected to the connecting section.
 20. Thelight emitting element of claim 19, wherein the light emitting chip hasa substantially square shape, and the concave portion has asubstantially square shape so as to correspond to the light emittingchip.
 21. The light emitting element of claim 19, wherein at least oneleg section of the leg sections comprises a first portion and a secondportion, and the second portion is separated from the chip seatingsection by the connecting section.
 22. The light emitting element ofclaim 19, wherein at least one leg section of the leg sections comprisesa first portion and a second portion, and the first portion is separatedfrom the connecting section by the second portion.